BRIDGEPORT -- Growing up in Norwalk, left-hander Matt Iannazzo was taught a desire to be better by his parents. Satisfied? Yes. But always hungry for more.

Following games, win or lose, Iannazzo would sit down with his parents and dissect the scorebook. They wanted to know what his thought process was in certain situations. Whether he was starring at Norwalk High or the University Pittsburgh or pitching in the Chicago Cubs organization, his approach has remained the same.

Iannazzo admits that he has had a chip on his shoulder for years. It has allowed him to achieve success to this point in his life. He is now hoping that it will lead to success this season as a member of the Bridgeport Bluefish.

"I'm very fiery," Iannazzo said. "I can't really control it sometimes. And I definitely pitch with a chip on my shoulder. I live my life with a chip on my shoulder. And I feel like that kind of mindset has brought me everything that I have and everything I'm going to get, because I'm never content with no matter what I do, really."

Iannazzo, 24, finds himself returning to his roots after spending the past two seasons with the Cubs organization. He led Norwalk to the FCIAC championship at Harbor Yard in 2007 and reached the title game there in 2008.

His success only grew throughout his career at Pittsburgh, where he is ranked first in team history in wins (28) and innings pitched (342), third in starts (47) and strikeouts (239), and 11th in appearances (54).

Iannazzo was signed by the Cubs as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He was 3-4 with a 3.83 ERA and five saves in 38 appearances, with 51 strikeouts and 21 walks in 51ï»¿2/3 innings. Last season, he was a combined 2-2 with a 3.38 ERA and four saves in 24 appearances at Class A Boise and Kane County last season.

Still, as Iannazzo was leaving the weight room at Pittsburgh early this February, he received a phone call from the Cubs notifying him that he was being released.

"It's just the way the game is," Iannazzo said. "And that's part of the reason why I knew that if I got upset about it, what would that have solved? It wouldn't have solved anything. So it's time to move on, go to the next thing. And, fortunately, this is going to be the highest level I've played at. So I'm excited to get going."

Iannazzo, who is 5-foot-9 and weighs 165 pounds, and his agent looked into landing a job with another major league organization after his release. At that point, though, available roster spots were at a minimum.

The Bluefish were eventually contacted, and manager Willie Upshaw invited Iannazzo to come up and throw for him at The Clubhouse in Fairfield. It took one side session and about 30 pitches for Iannazzo to prove to Upshaw that he deserved a roster spot with the Bluefish.

"I liked his delivery," Upshaw said. "He had enough velocity then and it's up from there now. And I liked his breaking ball. Pretty simple delivery. Good breaking ball. Good fastball. You don't find a lot of those and he showed me even more out here against hitters. He looks like an asset for us."

Iannazzo throws a fastball, slider, change-up and a cutter. He said his velocity ranges from 88 to 91 miles per hour, and he earned the win against the Long Island Ducks with one scoreless inning in relief Friday in his only spring training appearance.

"He's got a good, consistent delivery," Bluefish pitching coach Pat Ahearne said. "He gets out there. He gets a really good extension, a good release point. And I really like how all of his pitches basically come through the same tunnel. The hitter's going to see the same look every time and he has to decide whether it's going or be fast or slow, go in on him, go away from him. So it's a really big advantage."

Iannazzo worked as a left-handed specialist with the Cubs. He is likely to see some of the same situational work with the Bluefish, but Upshaw is confident in Iannazzo's ability to retire hitters from both sides of the plate.

"I think he's got at least four pitches and he's got a strong arm," Upshaw said. "When he pitches, he's going to pitch. He's going to pitch an inning. Maybe with a left-hander, maybe with a tough left-hand bat in there for sure. Otherwise, he's going to get his work in. He's got enough stuff to get lefties or righties out."

Iannazzo is not bitter about being in independent ball this season. He is also not putting a timetable on when he hopes to be back in affiliated ball.

He views his job with the Bluefish as another opportunity to prove himself. Should he get signed by a big league organization, Iannazzo understands that it could possibly provide him with an opportunity to compete at a level higher than his previous experience in Class A.

"I'm going to play every day here," Iannazzo said. "Hopefully, pitch well, and if things work out, I'll be more than happy to join back into an affiliated team. But I don't even really think about if it doesn't happen because, to be honest, I'm going to enjoy playing the game, maybe not for as long as I can, but as long as I can stay competitive."